The flashlight has become one of the most used of the portable lighting devices. It is used on a regular basis by maintenance personnel, security personnel, vehicle operators, sportsmen, and home owners. In order to effectively use the flashlight for anything other than general lighting, it is usually necessary that the flashlight be pointed at the area where the light is needed to perform a specific task. This has generally required that the flashlight be held in one hand to light the area at which the job task is to be done thereby leaving only one hand free to perform the job task. In order to free both hands, the flashlight user has resorted to a number of different attempts to properly hold the flashlight. These attempts have included propping the flashlight on some support, holding it under the user's arm, head or between his legs, or in many instances holding the flashlight in his mouth. These attempts to hold the flashlight are generally awkward, restrict the movement of the user, and do not support the flashlight in a stable manner. As a result, the flashlight was frequently dropped, sometimes damaging the flashlight and/or placing the flashlight user in a precarious position.
Mechanisms which attempt to support the flashlight have been proposed; however, these mechanisms have generally not permitted the necessary access to the flashlight, were not stable, or did not have the required versatility for the full use of the flashlight by the user.